Come, Thou Holy Spirit, Come

Come, Thou Holy Spirit, come!
And from Thy celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Thou Father of the poor!
Come, Thou Source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine!

Thou, of comforters the best;
Thou, the soul’s most welcome Guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessèd Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of Thine,
And our inmost being fill!
Where Thou art not, man hath naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour Thy dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away;
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess Thee, evermore
In Thy sev’nfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward
Give them Thy salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end.

Author: Unknown

Year: 1200

This is an English translation of the medieval Latin hymn 'Veni Sancte Spiritus' (the 'Golden Sequence'), traditionally attributed to either Pope Innocent III or Stephen Langton (Archbishop of Canterbury). The specific translation here (with phrasing such as 'Come, Thou Father of the poor' and 'O most blessèd Light divine') is the widely circulated 19th-century version by Edward Caswall; the original medieval author of the Latin text remains uncertain.